Demultiplexing Bonded GRE Tunnels

Abstract

A Hybrid Access (HYA) network for communicating between a Hybrid Access Gateway (HAG) and a Hybrid Access Customer Premises Equipment (HCPE) using a fixed wired connection and a wireless connection is presented. The HAG demultiplexes messages of bonded Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) tunnels using a bonding key value, which is provided to the HCPE during bonded tunnel establishment. Communications through the bonded tunnels insert at least a portion of the bonding key value in a GRE Header, using the different bonding key values for the fixed wired connection and the corresponding wireless connection. The HAG groups messages from multiple connections of multiple HCPEs using the bonding key value in the GRE Header.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A Hybrid Access Gateway (HAG), comprising:
 a receiver configured to receive a set-up request message from a Hybrid Access Customer Premises Equipment (HCPE);   a processor coupled to the receiver and configured to generate a bonding key value to correspond to a connection of a plurality of connections to the HCPE, wherein the bonding key value comprises a first portion and a second portion; and   a transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to transmit a set-up acceptance message to the HCPE, wherein the set-up acceptance message comprises an attribute having the bonding key value.   
     
     
         2 . The HAG of  claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the bonding key value is set by the HAG to identify the connection of the plurality of connections to the HCPE. 
     
     
         3 . The HAG of  claim 2 , wherein the first portion of the bonding key value currently corresponding to a first connection to a HCPE is set to not conflict with the first portion of a second bonding key value currently corresponding to a second connection to the HCPE. 
     
     
         4 . The HAG of  claim 1 , wherein the second portion of the bonding key value is a random number. 
     
     
         5 . The HAG of  claim 1 , wherein the HAG is in communication with the HCPE via a fixed wired connection and a wireless connection. 
     
     
         6 . The HAG of  claim 5 , wherein the fixed wired connection is at least one of a digital subscriber line (DSL) network and fiber optic network, and wherein the wireless connection is at least one of a 3 rd  generation (3G) network, a 4 th  generation (4G) network, and a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. 
     
     
         7 . The HAG of  claim 5 , wherein the receiver receives, from the HCPE via the fixed wired connection and the wireless connection, control messages comprising a Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) Header having a key field, and wherein a key value in the key field is the first portion of the bonding key value. 
     
     
         8 . The HAG of  claim 7 , wherein the processor is configured to demultiplex the control messages by grouping control messages from the fixed wired connection to a corresponding wireless connection based on the key value. 
     
     
         9 . The HAG of  claim 1 , wherein the receiver receives control messages from a plurality of tunnels to the HCPE, and wherein the HAG identifies a tunnel source of the control messages from key fields in the control messages. 
     
     
         10 . The HAG of  claim 9 , wherein each control message of the control messages comprises a Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) Header having a key field having a first portion of the bonding key value, and wherein the HAG uses the first portion of the bonding key value to identify the tunnel source. 
     
     
         11 . A Hybrid Access Customer Premises Equipment (HCPE) comprising:
 a receiver;   a transmitter; and   a processor coupled to the receiver and transmitter and configured to cause the HCPE to:
 communicate with a Hybrid Access Gateway (HAG) over Hybrid Access (HYA) network via Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) tunnels and (LTE) GRE tunnels; and 
 bond the DSL GRE tunnels and the LTE GRE tunnels into a logical link to support switching traffic flows between the DSL GRE tunnels and the LTE GRE tunnels based on network traffic conditions. 
   
     
     
         12 . The HCPE of  claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured to exchange network information with the HAG via a bonding key value attribute comprising a value indicating a password to be used as a Key of a GRE Header for each tunnel control message. 
     
     
         13 . The HCPE of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to exchange the network information with the HAG via a message comprising a Client Identification Name (CIN) attribute comprising a value indicating an operator network associated with the HCPE. 
     
     
         14 . The HCPE of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to exchange the network information with the HAG via a message comprising a DSL Synchronization Rate attribute comprising a value indicating a downstream bandwidth of a DSL link. 
     
     
         15 . A method for demultiplexing packets of bonded Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) tunnels at a Hybrid Access Gateway (HAG), comprising:
 receiving, by a receiver of the HAG, a set-up request message from a Hybrid Access Customer Premises Equipment (HCPE);   generating, by a processor coupled to the receiver, a bonding key value to correspond to a connection to the HCPE, wherein the bonding key value comprises a first portion and a second portion; and   transmitting, by a transmitter coupled to the processor, a set-up acceptance message to the HCPE, wherein the set-up acceptance message comprises an attribute having the bonding key value.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the first portion of the bonding key value is set by the HAG to identify the connection from a plurality of connections to the HCPE. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the first portion of the bonding key value currently corresponding to the connection is set to not conflict with a first portion of a second bonding key value currently corresponding to a second connection to the HCPE. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the HAG is in communication with the HCPE via a fixed wired connection and a wireless connection, wherein the fixed wired connection is at least one of a digital subscriber line (DSL) network and fiber optic network, and wherein the wireless connection is at least one of a 3 rd  generation (3G) network, a 4 th  generation (4G) network, and a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising receiving, from the HCPE via the fixed wired connection and the wireless connection, control messages comprising a Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) Header having a key field, wherein a key value in the key field is the first portion of the bonding key value. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising grouping control messages from the fixed wired connection to a corresponding wireless connection based on the key value.